‘Robber’ killed in Kushtia ‘gunfight’

A suspected robber was killed in what police claimed a ‘gunfight’ between suspected robbers and police at Pipulbaria Kalurmath of Daulatpur in Kushtia early Monday.The deceased was identified as Altab Hossain, 38, son of Golam Mostafa, of Boalia area under the upazila. He was wanted in five cases, mostly for robbery, lodged with Daulatpur police station, said the police station’s officer-in-charge Mohammad Shah Dara Khan.With Altab, the media reported that at least 68 people were killed in ‘gunfight’ incidents across the country since January 1 of the ongoing year.The Daulatpur police OC said that acting on tip-off, a team of Daulatpur police conducted a drive when a group of robbers led by Altab took position on Daulatpur-Pipulbaria road to commit robbery.Sensing the presence of police, the suspected robbers opened fire on them at about 2:30pm, prompting them to retaliate by firing that triggered a gunfight, he said.As the suspected robbers fled the scene and the gunfight was over, police found bullet-hit Altab and rushed him to Daulatpur Upazila Health Complex where on-duty doctors declared him dead, the OC claimed.He also claimed that three policemen - sub-inspector Razzak, assistant sub-inspector Arif and constable Nanada Ghosh - were injured during the gunfight.Police recovered a pistol, two machetes and two bullets from the spot, he added.